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Birth control methods typically work in one of two ways. The first is via physical obstruction, and the second is through manipulation of biological systems. Now researchers at OHSU are developing a new female contraceptive that combines both.

A survey by Oregon Business found that women fill only 39 of the 340 board seats at Oregon’s 46 public companies, and almost half of those companies have no women on their boards. The dearth of women is both a social equity and business performance issue.

Population and employment have always had a symbiotic relationship. A growing population creates a need for goods and services. A surge in hiring, such as when a new company sets up shop, can create demand for workers from outside the area, boosting the local population. Generally, a change in either can’t be sustained without a similar change in the other.

In the early-1990s, a Bothell, Wash.-based startup called CellPro developed a novel way to clean bone marrow stem cells before inserting them into leukemia patients. Early clinical trials saw surprisingly high rates of survival in desperately ill children, and CellPro’s cancer-stricken CEO also made a bone-marrow-aided comeback in experimental treatment.